Aircraft interior door assembly

Abstract

An aircraft interior door assembly, such as for a lavatory, including a door panel configured to simultaneously pivot and translate within its opening, a first pair of linear door guides running parallel to the door opening for guiding pivoting and translational movement of the door panel, the door panel pivotally attached to the first pair of linear door guides mid-span along its length, and a second pair of linear door guides running along an adjacent wall at an angle to the door opening for guiding an attached side of the door panel along the adjacent wall.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An aircraft interior door assembly, comprising:
 a door panel configured to simultaneously pivot and translate within a door opening;   a first pair of linear door guides running parallel to the door opening for guiding pivoting and translational movement of the door panel relative to the door opening, the door panel being pivotally attached to the first pair of linear door guides mid-span along the length of the door panel; and   a second pair of linear door guides running along an adjacent wall at an angle to the door opening for guiding an attached side of the door panel along the adjacent wall.   
     
     
         2 . The aircraft interior door assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein one linear door guide of each of the first and second pairs of linear door guides is located at or near the top of the door panel, and the other linear door guide of the first and second pairs of linear door guides is located at or near the bottom of the door panel. 
     
     
         3 . The aircraft interior door assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the first pair of linear door guides are in vertically spaced apart alignment. 
     
     
         4 . The aircraft interior door assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the second pair of linear door guides are in vertically spaced apart alignment. 
     
     
         5 . The aircraft interior door assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the linear door guides of the first and second pairs of linear door guides are embedded within an interior wall panel. 
     
     
         7 . The aircraft interior door assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein attachment points of the door panel to the first pair of linear door guides defines a pivot axis through the door panel parallel to its longitudinal axis about which the door panel pivots when opened or closed. 
     
     
         8 . The aircraft interior door assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein each of the linear door guides of each of the first and second pairs of linear door guides includes a door panel attachment member that travels linearly within a guide track. 
     
     
         9 . The aircraft interior door assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the adjacent wall is perpendicular to the door opening such that the first pair of linear door guides are arranged perpendicular to the second pair of linear door guides. 
     
     
         10 . The aircraft interior door assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the door opening is a door opening of an aircraft lavatory and the adjacent wall is an attendant wall, and wherein a free side of the door panel protrudes outward beyond the door opening but does not protrude outward beyond a face of the attendant wall when the door panel is fully open. 
     
     
         11 . An aircraft lavatory accessible through a door opening, the door opening including a door assembly comprising:
 a door panel configured to simultaneously pivot and translate within the door opening;   a first pair of linear door guides running parallel to the door opening for guiding pivoting and translational movement of the door panel within the door opening, the door panel being pivotally attached to the first pair of linear door guides mid-span along the length of the door panel; and   a second pair of linear door guides running along a lavatory wall adjacent the door opening and at an angle thereto for guiding a side of the door panel along the lavatory wall within the lavatory, the side of the door panel guided along the lavatory wall being attached to and slidable relative to the second pair of linear door guides.   
     
     
         12 . The aircraft lavatory according to  claim 11 , wherein one linear door guide of each of the first and second pairs of linear door guides is located at or near the top of the door panel, and the other linear door guide of the first and second pairs of linear door guides is located at or near the bottom of the door panel. 
     
     
         13 . The aircraft lavatory according to  claim 11 , wherein the first pair of linear door guides are in vertically spaced apart alignment. 
     
     
         14 . The aircraft lavatory according to  claim 11 , wherein the second pair of linear door guides are in vertically spaced apart alignment. 
     
     
         15 . The aircraft lavatory according to  claim 11 , wherein at least one of the linear door guides of the first and second pairs of linear door guides are embedded within a lavatory wall. 
     
     
         16 . The aircraft lavatory according to  claim 11 ,  1 , wherein pivot points of the top and bottom of the door panel and the first pair of linear door guides are in vertical alignment. 
     
     
         17 . The aircraft lavatory according to  claim 11 , wherein each of the linear door guides of each of the first and second pairs of linear door guides includes a door panel attachment member that travels linearly within a guide track. 
     
     
         18 . An aircraft interior door assembly, comprising:
 a door panel configured to simultaneously pivot and translate within its door opening;   a first pair of linear door guides running parallel to the door opening for guiding pivoting and translational movement of the door panel, the door panel being pivotally attached to the first pair of linear door guides mid-span along its length; and   a second pair of linear door guides running along an adjacent wall perpendicular to the door opening, the second pair of linear door guides guiding movement of an attached side of the door panel along the adjacent wall.   
     
     
         19 . The aircraft interior door assembly according to  claim 18 , wherein one linear door guide of each of the first and second pairs of linear door guides is located at or near the top of the door panel, and the other linear door guide of the first and second pairs of linear door guides is located at or near the bottom of the door panel.